With These Tools, You Can Digitize Your Business Processes

1. What does it mean to digitize business processes?
2. What requirements do you have to bring along?
3. What are the advantages of digital business processes?
4. Which tools help with the digitization of business processes?

Extensive work steps, extensive resource use, and lengthy approvals can really put a company on the brake pedal - unintentionally. To give the whole thing a real boost, it helps to digitize all business processes. The procedure naturally depends on how big your company is, how many employees you employ and several other factors.

You can't just tell any software to digitize all your business processes. For such processes consist of too many areas, which are also different from industry to industry. Nevertheless, tools can help you digitize your business processes and you won't need a programmer. But of course, several digital helpers might be needed.

We reveal which ones they are, what matters to you in digitizing your business processes, what advantages are on hand and what requirements you need to bring with you. Reassuring spoiler: It's no magic - just time-consuming!

What does it mean to digitize business processes?

Transforming business processes into the digital world prepares companies for the future. Moreso, anyone who does not address this topic will have to say goodbye to their usual turnovers sooner or later. The digitization of business processes prepares companies more flexibility, efficiency, and better connection to the market. Also, innovations like the metaverse can be better engaged. But the digitization of business processes is different to be accomplished from department to department. At the same time, the bigger picture must be kept in mind - the uniform company-internal digital infrastructure.

Accordingly, you are looking on OMR Reviews for a category like „digitize business processes“ in vain. Instead, you have to deal with several tools. In which categories you find these, we tell you in the last part of this article.

Digital Asset Management Softwares, like Bynder, help you to manage media files like photos, audios and videos.

Additionally, there's a difference whether a long-established company needs to be digitalized or a start-up that has just appeared on the scene. Thus, existing IT structures play a big role. To digitize operations definitely means to include existing things, to automate at the right places, to involve employees and to apply the right tools - all of them must work together via interfaces.

What requirements do you have to bring along?

To start the digitization and automation of business processes, you need above all good preparation. As a principle, that's often half the battle. In second, third, and fourth place comes the consistency. If you dedicate yourselves to the digitization of your business processes, either pull it through entirely or not at all. Here and there to establish a software, let it run automated, won't bring you any sustainable advantage. Once you have completed the digitization, you will be strengthened for the next few decades, because the world and you can build upon it. For example: If you just spend the bare essentials for a laptop, you'll have to buy a new one after a year, because the tech is not up-to-date anymore. If you directly buy top hardware, you'll have peace of mind for the next 5 years because the tech will remain up-to-date or sufficient.

Even if you face a big construction site, you don't need to panic: The digitization of business processes in medium-sized companies is in full swing. The current digitization index 2020/21 states that to date just over half of medium-sized companies are digitized. Further figures from the digitalization index state that in most companies the relationship to customers, productivity, IT security as well as turnover have increased. So all work will have its reward if you approach it properly!

The medium-sized business sector is still in the midst of digital upheaval.

The prerequisites to lead your company into digitization thus primarily refer to involving all business processes and thoroughly analyzing how this can work at which place in the company. A good example is the omnichannel model: it only works if all processes of a dealer are united. At the same time, digitization relies on a consistent and courageous action - after all, many people don't like changes. Be also well prepared and make a thorough plan. Consulting companies are a good address for that.

What are the advantages of digital business processes?

The reward shows up afterwards in the advantages of digital business processes - and they come in large numbers:

• You save a lot of paper.
• Additionally, you save a lot of monetary resources.
• Employees can be used more effectively, as automated processes conserve human resources.
• You have a better connection to your market.
• The development of your products can progress faster and more innovatively.
• Innovative approaches - like in marketing - can be implemented.
• Processes like payroll accounting, centralized storage of documents and other assets and corporate control make your company faster.
• Especially the HR department and the accounting will be relieved - there the most elaborate manual processes take place, at the same time processes here can be automated best.
• Employees can take on more responsibility by becoming part of digitization. Example: Allow employees access to their digital personal file and have them digitally transmit vacation applications as well as notifications of sickness.
• The security and protection of your data will increase exponentially, as you can shield access and digital external influence much better than with paper files.
• Additionally, you can better comply with regulations like the GDPR, as software with corresponding presets provide support.
• Tools prevent 99 percent of the mistakes that are made when you rely solely on human action.
• Most software can be scaled to your needs and only cost what you really need.

You can always compare the currently needed software on OMR Reviews - this can't be done in the analogue world.

Which tools help with the digitization of business processes?

As mentioned at the beginning, you can't look for one software for everything; that should be clear by now. First, you have to select which areas in your company should be digitized. Here it depends on the famous good preparation that we have already mentioned. In addition, you should appoint a project manager who takes care of the process of digitization across all departments. Here classical Project Management Tools come into play already. Subsequently, a list of tools is to be compiled, which you need for the digital transformation of your different business processes.

For this we present you with four essential categories with one tool as an example each. Besides these software categories you will find many more on OMR Reviews, of course. There are currently 1,200 tools waiting for you, which you can compare based on user reviews.

Document Management

Documents are one of the most frequent and important assets of a company. To not leave these to chaos digitally, you should use Document Management Systems (DMS). Moreover, the „paperwork“ is one of the biggest challenges in the transformation to digitization. Document management tools can capture, manage and archive your physical documents. Additionally, such software takes care of the direct capture of documents that reach you digitally. Here, you can automate some business processes and use human resources more efficiently.

Example Tool – Microsoft OneDrive

With Microsoft OneDrive for Business, you can store, share, and search for files in the cloud. Additionally, you can grant partitioned access to third parties like freelancers. In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint you can work with others in real-time using OneDrive.

E-signature

Once your flood of documents is digitized, you need to make sure that it remains within your monitor and does not start printing paper again. This often happens when documents or contracts need to be signed. This can take a lot of time. E-signature tools save you time, paper, and costs by letting you sign documents electronically (with legal validity).

Example Tool – Adobe Sign

With Adobe Sign, you can electronically sign documents directly on your computer, tablet or smartphone. In addition, Adobe's product offers other goodies, such as tracking editing status, using templates or creating forms. Also, Adobe Sign can be integrated into Microsoft programs. In this way, you can lay the foundation of your digitalization with Microsoft and add tools like Adobe Sign. Corresponding certificates like ISO 27001 can also be proven by the tool.

Accounting

Those who earn money need to write bills or receive bills to be paid. Additionally, the payment of employees becomes relevant as well as other accounting tasks. To handle these efficiently, accounting tools can help you. Some of these can also be used as a CRM, at the same time. Accounting softwares can form various interfaces to other areas, such as to Project Management,.

With Adobe Sign you can put your signature digitally in the future.

Example Tool – Lexoffice

Lexoffice can write and manage invoices, as well as handle bookkeeping and online banking. Lexware's tool runs in a cloud and can be used mobile even when you're on the move. Functionally, the accounting software is very comprehensive and adapts optimally to small and medium-sized businesses. Payroll accounting can also be handled with Lexoffice.

Applicant Management

Good personnel is hard to find these days. Recruiting processes with assessment centers and all other steps in the application process can take a lot of time. Digitizing these processes helps you get good employees quicker while conserving resources. Your HR department will definitely be thankful!

Example Tool – Personio

As HR software, Personio can take care of not only your applicant management but also other processes in the HR area. Above all, Personio is talented in automating processes.

HR software like Personio allows you e.g. to automate and make the exhausting recruiting processes more efficient.